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<title>A Thief in the Night and a Deer on the Prowl Have a Lot in Common, Mostly That Neither Want to be Caught Unawares by Their Hunters by knightofsuperior</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26172172">A Thief in the Night and a Deer on the Prowl Have a Lot in Common, Mostly That Neither Want to be Caught Unawares by Their Hunters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightofsuperior/pseuds/knightofsuperior'>knightofsuperior</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:42:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26172172</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightofsuperior/pseuds/knightofsuperior</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A mysterious thief makes their way into Garreg Mach, and challenges Claude to discover their identity.</p>
<p>Naturally, things don't go according to plan for either party.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Thief in the Night and a Deer on the Prowl Have a Lot in Common, Mostly That Neither Want to be Caught Unawares by Their Hunters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>Blue Sea Moon</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>7/20</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Seteth, what’s all this I’m hearing about the Phantom of Garreg Mach?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seteth failed to glance up from his desk, his eyes locked on a piece of paper-one of many, in fact. Documents of all sorts were strewn about the desk like pieces of a puzzle, placed side by side in a roughshod order. Claude always figured Seteth was the fastidious type, so this was something of a surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That mystery could wait.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>mystery, though…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’re referring to the Death Knight,” Seteth began, his tone firm, “We’re still on the hunt for-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claude held up a hand. “Ah, ah, ah. I’m not talking about the Death Knight here. I’m talking about the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phantom</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seteth paused his reading. He glanced at Claude, and quizzically raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claude groaned, placing his hands down on the small portion of free space on Seteth’s desk. “You can’t be serious. Mystery man, lurks through the dark of night, stealing ancient treasures and the hearts of man and woman alike along the way? It’s all anyone’s talking about.” And wouldn’t he know it? Half the Golden Deer had accused him of playing the role, to the point where he began to wonder if he had a severe-and-oddly-intricate case of sleepwalking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have heard tell of some thievery, yes,” Seteth replied. “Nothing in detail. Many attempt to commit petty robbery here despite the eyes of the Goddess all around them. Rest assured that the Knights of Seiros would act should they find any unusual figures in or around the monastery.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claude frowned. “You’re telling me you don’t have any information at all?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None whatsoever...for you, at the least.” Ignoring Claude’s facetious gasp, Seteth returned his attention to the documents on his desk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m trying to find our expense reports for the last month.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Expense reports?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seteth nodded. “Yes-we need to make sure no extraneous payments or purchases were made. Normally, we have a dedicated budget per month for any non-essential expenditures, and yet…” Seteth put a hand to his chin. “We ran out of that budget far more quickly than usual. I worry someone may be attempting to embezzle...ah.” He paused. “I...probably shouldn’t be saying this out loud.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no, </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> go on.” Claude grinned, glancing through the papers. “Let me just help you out here-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seteth scowled, the kind that he usually reserved for Teach whenever she did...well, anything, frankly. “Out, von Riegen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claude held up his hands.  “Alright, alright. I won’t keep you from your </span>
  <em>
    <span>thrilling</span>
  </em>
  <span> workload.” Keeping them in the air, Claude turned, waving one as he left Seteth’s office. “I’ll see you around!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Farewell.” As the door clicked shut, Seteth placed a hand on his chin, closing his eyes. “Oh,” he added, loudly. “I’ll want that document back when you’re done with it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a groan from outside the door. “How’d you even see that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Flayn has tried to get many cookies from just as many jars, Claude. It’s the same principle.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the other side of the door, Claude shook his head. “Can’t get anything past that guy.” As he walked down the hall and towards the stairs, he slipped a piece of paper out from his sleeve, evening out the creases. It wasn’t the most detailed piece of paper-just a memo with the bare basics:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>To: Lady Rhea</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Re: Unusual</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“3000G Missing from Treasury on . Returned in full one week later.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Related: Suspicious food purchases in recent weeks. Smuggling front?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Card left at scene. Attached. </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Do Not Tell Claude.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claude narrowed his eyes. “What’re you trying to hide from me, Seteth?” He flipped the memo over. There was indeed a small card, no larger than the ones Teach used to help with memorization. It had four lines, written in pristine handwriting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>To One of Golden Will</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>A Test of Your Skill</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Find Me Within These Walls</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Before The Twenty-Fourth Sun’s Fall</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claude, despite his best efforts, couldn’t help the shiver that ran up his spine. Whoever this Phantom was, they were directly challenging the head of the Golden Deer. They had confidence, that much was certain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seteth clearly didn’t want Claude to see this because it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>about</span>
  </em>
  <span> Claude. But, if that was the case…”Why </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> he let me leave with it?” Claude muttered. Seteth was no fool; he wouldn’t let Claude </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> get his hands on something meant to be kept under wraps. The last time the Deer had tried, it was detention for a week with Professor Hanneman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sweet Sothis, those days were </span>
  <em>
    <span>pain.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps, Claude thought, letting him leave with the memo was Seteth’s own challenge. A way of saying “Find this man, for I, the great and wise Seteth, am simply unable to fathom just who this mysterious fellow could be!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claude grinned. This was going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun.</span>
  </em>
</p>
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